Dear Speaker Pérez:

The League of Women Voters of California urges you to allow SB 641 to be sent from the Appropriations Committee to the Assembly floor for debate and vote. This bill, as Senator Calderon proposes to amend it, would allow eligible citizens to register and vote at official locations on election day or during the 14-day period leading up to election day, a process dubbed same day registration and voting.

The League of Women Voters encourages all people who are eligible to vote to register and to cast an informed vote in all elections. We believe that government should make registration and re-registration easy, while assuring that the basic requirements of citizenship, age, and residency are met. We also believe that the state should take a stronger role in encouraging the facilitation of registration and voting.

SB 641 would open up our registration process, which often presents a barrier to eligible voters. It would establish one-stop voting where a person would be permitted to register to vote and immediately vote on election day or at any time prior to election day when ballots may be cast. If the voter registration cannot be verified immediately, then the voter will still be allowed to vote using a conditional ballot. This ballot will be counted if the registration can be verified before the end of the vote counting period.

We are pleased to support SB 641 to allow election-day registration and voting with a minimum of restrictive requirements, and we urge your support for its going to an Assembly floor vote.

Sincerely,
Jennifer A. Waggoner
President

cc: Senator Ron Calderon

Subject

SB 641 Support Same Day Voter Registration (as proposed to be amended)

In response to

Letter to Speaker Perez urging the bill be sent from the Appropriations Committee to the Assembly floor for debate and vote. As Senator Calderon proposes to amend it, this bill would allow eligible citizens to register and vote at official locations on election day or during the 14-day period leading up to election day. (August 26, 2011)